Review - Payne's novel follows a pilgrimage

Sunday

Mar 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Wilmington native Peggy Payne trumps E.L. James in her latest book.

By Ben SteelmanBen.Steelman@StarNewsOnline.com

Wilmington native Peggy Payne trumps E.L. James in her latest book, a novel of ideas that manages to include a number of erotic romps."Cobalt Blue" focuses on Andalusia "Andie" Branson, a 38-year-old painter living in Pinehurst. Andie's in a bad state; her 11-year relationship just died, basically, of ennui, and her career's in a rut. Once one of her art school's hot prospects, Andie has settled into painting college president and CEO portraits, and a series of golf images for country clubs. (When you're an artist in Pinehurst, there aren't many other choices.) She's nearly broke and facing the prospect of doing pet portraits for food.Then, in close succession, two things happen. First, through discreet wealthy contacts, Andie's offered a different sort of commission: a portrait of the Hon. Billy Sylvester, North Carolina's extremely right-wing U.S. senator and friend of dictators everywhere. (Sylvester clearly shares traits with the late Jesse Helms, although we discover that Sen. Billy also has Clintonesque tendencies.) Andie regards Sylvester as a racist pig, but the $100,000 fee is hard to resist.Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, Andie suffers some sort of psychic-physical attack. Enormous bolts of electric energy seem to well out of from the base of her spine and radiate all through her body. She feels as if she's floating in light. Her perceptions seem to sharpen; everything seems brighter, clearer.The moment passes, but Andie feels changed. Suddenly, she attacks projects she hasn't tried in years – real, creative, experimental artwork, not just depictions of golf strokes.Andie's behavior changes as well. She'd always seemed rather prim and demure. Then, impulsively, she volunteers when an artist friend needs a replacement for a nude model for a life-drawing session. And she likes it.On a quick trip to the coast, again impulsively, she accepts a good ol' boy's invitation to cruise the Outer Banks on his yacht. Soon, the waves aren't the only reason the boat's rocking. Other one-night and one-day stands follow. Andie finds herself shooting come-hither looks at teenage busboys.If only Andie were into New Age thought as much as her mother, she'd realize that what she's experiencing is kundalini rising – a concept from yoga, recognized by humanistic psychologists. Subjects, especially women around Andie's age, undergo an intense release of psychic power, marked by increased energy levels, visions and extreme emotions. Also connected to the syndrome are difficulty controlling behaviors and sexual arousal.(Although the concept is native to Hindu and Buddhist traditions, it's also known to Christian mystics; St. Teresa of Avila reported similar symptoms – without the naughty parts, apparently.)All of Payne's fiction is fundamentally religious. Her first novel, "Revelation," dealt with a liberal Chapel Hill pastor who suddenly, literally, hears the voice of God; her second, "Sister India," followed Western spiritual seekers in the Indian holy city of Varanasi.Thus, "Cobalt Blue" takes the form of a spiritual quest as Andie struggles to regain control of herself yet retain her creative power and her revived inner passion. When conventional therapy doesn't fully take, Andie embarks on a pilgrimage to New Orleans – and yes, voodoo is involved in the climax.Not all of the novel works. We never quite get a clear picture of Andie's troubled relations with her glamorous, globe-trotting parents – although her dad, Zach (described as a cross between Ernest Hemingway and John Huston), puts in a cameo appearance. A subplot involving Sylvester's role in U.S. covert operations (which also seems to involve Andie's mom and dad) seems to fizzle.At its best, however, "Cobalt Blue" proves effective and thought-provoking – and, once in a while, more genuinely sexy than "50 Shades of Grey."